Trickster's Festival

Tom and Conrad were really excited when they won a free trip to Japan from Kitsunuki Travel. The two roommates had heard about the summer festivals on the internet, and one particular festival stuck out, The Trickster Festival.

Legends told of a Kitsune and a Tanuki that tormented the village back in the Meiji period. The emperor refused to send help, saying it was nothing more that superstition. So the locals erected a shrine and held a festival, offering gallons of sake to appease the vengeful tricksters. The creatures drank and sang and danced themselves into a stupor.

While they were drunk, the villagers captured them. The Kitsune and Tanuki begged for their lives. The villagers agreed, on the condition that they would be the slaves of the village, creating the very concoction that tricked them into this fate. They continue to hold the festival today, a weeklong celebration of pranks and the liquor that saved the village.

The two friends arrived in the remote village just before the celebration started. Their guide showed them an old fashioned building near the shrine itself where the sake for the ceremony was kept. Bad Idea.
Conrad slid the door open to reveal hundreds of casks and bottles. Each lovingly sealed and set their as the trickster's share. Tom pulled the seal off of a large jar, found a saucer, dipped in and drank deeply. Conrad grabbed a bottle and poured into a Masu, filling it to the brim.

After a while and a few bottles later, the two partiers step out onto the porch and looked out over the festivities. Conrad lifted up another bottle. "Kanpai!" they cheered! And through blurry eyes, Tom looked at his friend. "Schay, you look a little fuzzy..."